In a distressing incident that underscores the precarious situation of religious minorities in Pakistan, a 13-year-old Hindu girl named Roshni Meghwar from Mirpur Khas, Sindh, was forcibly converted to Islam and married to a Muslim boy. This case highlights the urgent need for greater protection and awareness regarding the safety of minority girls in the region.

Hindus, who once comprised a significant population in Sindh, have been reduced to a vulnerable minority. Hindu girls are prime targets for radical Islamists who abduct them, forcibly convert them, and marry them to their abductors, often men two to three times their age. These victims frequently face sexual violence and coercion. Despite the gravity of the situation, international human rights organizations have largely overlooked their plight. This neglect has led to an irreparable loss for the Hindu community in Sindh.

The abduction and forced conversion of Roshni Meghwar have sparked outrage among the community.

In a tragic incident, a child was killed, and his father and sister were critically injured after an explosion ripped through a meadow in Harghosil village of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The blast, caused by a landmine or unexploded ordnance, occurred while the family’s cattle were grazing near the Line of Control (LoC) that separates Pakistan and India’s Himalayan territories.

Despite the frequent occurrence of such tragedies, the Pak media remains silent, failing to shed light on the plight of the region’s civilians.

The incident has once again drawn attention to the pressing issue of land mines and unexploded ordnance that litter the LoC, posing a constant threat to the safety and livelihoods of border communities in Pakistan-Occupied Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

This incident comes at a time when the region grapples with rampant land grabbing by influential mafias, who forcibly or deceitfully seize land from legitimate owners for real estate or monetary gain, subjecting locals to evictions and property loss.

Residents have taken to the streets, protesting the encroachment of their land rights by these powerful groups backed by the cruel Pak Army, but their appeals for justice and intervention have largely fallen on deaf ears.

The testimonies of the protesters highlight the injustice and frustration experienced by local communities, marginalized and denied access to their own lands.

Three prominent members of Pakistan’s minority Ahmadiyya community have been detained for one month by the Chakwal district administration to prevent them from performing religious rites during Eid-ul Azha.

The detentions in Chakwal district come just days after two Ahmadis were killed in a targeted attack in Mandi Bahauddin, highlighting the increasing threats faced by the community in Pakistan.

On June 10, Chakwal’s Deputy Commissioner Quratul Ain Malik issued separate detention orders for the three men, all residents of Dulmial village, where a mob had attacked an Ahmadi mosque in 2016, killing two people. The historic nineteenth century mosque remains sealed by authorities. The Ahmadiyya community, a religious minority in Pakistan, frequently faces persecution and discrimination.

Malik cited a police report alleging the three could “deteriorate the law and order situation”, invoking a draconian public order law to justify the detentions, which were recommended by the District Intelligence Committee to “prevent sectarian conflict”.

The detainees were subsequently arrested and sent to Jhelum prison.

Ahmadiyya community

A spokesperson for the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya said that the three men were summoned to a meeting with police officials and the assistant commissioner Choa Saidan Shah regarding Eid-ul Azha. During the meeting, which also included complainants opposed to the Ahmadiyya community, the men were pressured not to perform the Qurbani ritual.

They were also harassed and asked to sign a surety bond promising that no Ahmadi in the district would perform Qurbani.

Amnesty International condemned the detentions, calling them a “gross violation of individual rights to liberty and freedom of belief and religion.” The organization highlighted that the detentions occurred shortly after the targeted killing of two Ahmadiyya men in Mandi Bahauddin on June 8.

“Pakistan: The ‘preventive detention’ of three members of the Ahmadiyya community yesterday in Chakwal to stop them from engaging in religious rites during the upcoming Eid al-Adha is a gross violation of individual rights to liberty and freedom of belief and religion,” Amnesty International stated on X.

The detentions have once again drawn attention to the systemic persecution of the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan, where they face religious discrimination, hate speech, and violence from extremist groups and the Paki establishment.

With Beijing and Islamabad signing at least 32 MOUs related to China Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC], it’s time for those who continue to believe that this ambitious USD 62 billion project will forever end Pakistan’s economic woes to celebrate. What must be even more exhilarating for the pro-CPEC camp is the news of Beijing’s willingness to roll out an “upgraded version” of CPEC in the second phase that will commence soon.

While CPEC certainly improved surface communication and power generation, yet this project hasn’t quite measured up to both Beijing and Islamabad’s repetitive claim of it being a “game-changer” even a decade after it was launched with much pomp and show. Hence, many are naturally wary of Beijing’s latest promise of an “upgraded version” of this project as lack of clarity on what it means raises several questions regarding this beguiling phrase.

If phase two of CPEC will be an “upgraded version”, then does it imply that first phase of this project has been executed using antiquated technology/outdated models, or is it just trying to assuage public disenchantment with this project by making tall promises? An “upgraded version” implies replacement of existing features with better and more efficient alternatives, and achieving this requires substantial investment in both terms of capital and time. So, will Beijing provide the proposed “upgraded version” without any associated cost escalation in the particular project?

If the answer is ‘No’, then where will Islamabad find the money for the “upgraded version” of CPEC? And if the reply is ‘Yes’, then isn’t it obvious that Beijing had craftily inflated the initial project estimates? This apprehension may sound outlandish but the CPEC ML 1 railway project aimed at reviving and redesigning construction of a 1,726 km long track from Karachi to Peshawar is a case in point. Originally pegged at USD 9.85 billion, it was subsequently reduced to USD 6.678 billion after Pakistani experts excluded extravagant and avoidable expenditures by focussing on critical aspects of the project.

Pakistan Railways achieved more than USD 3 billion savings by prioritisation and ingenuity while ensuring no dilution in the laid down objectives. Instead of upgrading all 630 level crossings, the most critical ones have been identified and instead of building new bridges over rivers, the comparatively much cheaper option of strengthening existing bridges has been incorporated. Though the tracks would have the designated speed limit of 140 km per hour, they would still be capable of supporting the desired speed of upto 160 Km per hour envisaged in the original plan!

Similarly, there are also compelling indications of exploitation in CPEC’s energy sector by Chinese independent power producers [IIPs]. In a well researched opinion paper titled ‘What drives Pakistan’s coal-fired power plant construction boom?: Understanding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s energy portfolio’, Rishikesh Ram Bhandary and Kelly Sims Gallagher have brought out the fact that besides other considerations, “availability of Chinese public finance to support coal-fired power plants to be the most important factors that shaped energy technology selection.”

The paper has also mentioned that “while Chinese actors have been responsive to the Pakistani government’s policy choices, they have also displayed financial risk aversion, which has translated into steep economic costs for Pakistan.” This observation is buttressed by the official revelation that the circular debt [money due to IPPs] as on January 1 this year has reached a whopping Rs 2.636 trillion, and while Islamabad is trying to give excuses like increase in imported coal prices and power loss/ theft, it’s evident that IPPs are exploiting Islamabad’s inability to call for an investigation due to fear of antagonising its “iron brother.”  

Former German career diplomat Dr Anne-Marie Schleich also believes that “For China, the construction and administration of coal-fired power plants within CPEC pose good alternative business opportunities abroad for its state-owned enterprises at a time when coal-fired power in China is being scaled down…” She has also highlighted Beijing’s duplicity on this issue, stating that “the focus on coal contrasts with China’s newly proclaimed domestic sustainability policy, yet China continues to be involved in coal power plants in its neighbourhood.”

So, while both Beijing and Islamabad have once again showered clichéd praises on each other, one wonders if the Pakistanis are really so gullible as to fall hook, line and sinker for China’s sweet talk and forget that the days of free lunches are long over, or is that being completely dependent on Beijing for loans to avoid debt defaults, cash-strapped Islamabad has no other choice but to dance to its “Iron Brother’s” tune?

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In yet another case exposing the grave human rights crisis facing religious minorities in Pakistan, a Hindu girl named Radhika became the latest victim of the disturbing practice of “conversion rape” on June 10.

Radhika was abducted, forcibly converted to Islam, and then married off to her abductor Tando Muhammad Khan in Sindh province. Her plight follows that of a minor named Noori, who was not only kidnapped and raped but also forcibly converted and married off to Muslim men Muhammad Ayub “Peer Ayubjan Sarhandi” and Luqman Mohib Junejo in separate incidents.

These cases are part of a deeply concerning pattern of forced conversions and marriages targeting minority Hindu and Christian girls in Pakistan, particularly in the Sindh region. Mounting evidence points to an organized campaign using sexual violence and coercion to entrap and exploit young girls from vulnerable communities.

Human rights activists have raised alarms over the climate of fear and oppression faced by minorities, who struggle to protect their children from such heinous crimes.

The issue has sparked outrage globally, and calls on Pakistan to take concrete action to safeguard the rights and freedoms of religious minorities. The world watches with mounting concern, calling for an end to the horrific practice of “conversion rape” and a future where no child is torn away from their family, faith, and future.